Tiptoeing, Jun Aoyan pushed aside the layers of bushes. Even though Jun Aoyan had made his movements as light as possible, a rustling sound was unavoidable. When she finally came to the source of the sound, she hid behind a tree and prepared to take a sneak peek. But soon, she showed up.
"It turns out it's you." Aoyan breathed a sigh of relief, "I thought someone was here to catch me."
Liu Shenghan turned around and smiled, dusting off his sleeves. Jun Aoyan stretched out her head and glanced behind her.
"What's wrong?"
"I thought I heard who you were talking to just now? But it seems like you are the only one here. Maybe I heard wrong."
"Well...I was thinking about something just now, and I started talking to myself unknowingly."
"What are you thinking about?"
"What else could it be?"
"……well."
"We'd better go back quickly." Liu Shenghan raised his head and looked at the last remaining light in the west. "When it gets completely dark, we may not be able to find our way back."
So the two of them walked together. It should be time for the believers to go to Xiangyuan. They really didn't meet a single living person. It wasn't until they got closer to the building complex that the two of them didn't get very close. They walked more spread out, but they were all within each other's field of vision. Even if I meet one or two people, I just walk by calmly without any regrets. No one gave them any trouble. They could clearly feel that a special aroma was getting stronger and stronger. This thing is very close to the fragrance they used on the shrine when they first came to Xiangji Country to see the Incense God. It is estimated that it is the preparation ceremony for opening the gate of Xiangyuan.
When he returned to the previous platform, Bai Ya was still here. However, there was a cloth bag on the ground. There were a few cakes stuffed in the bag, with sesame seeds attached to them, but they were a little cold. In addition, there are several weapons scattered around. Jun Aoyan immediately stepped forward and picked up a spear, looking back and forth. The metal spear seemed very light in her hand, like a wooden stick she picked up in the afternoon.
"People who can wait for you to come back will already starve to death." Bai Ya glared at the two of them.
"All women are like this." Liu Shenghan took out two cakes from the bag and handed one to Jun Aoyan. Aoyan asked:
"Where did all of this come from? Are you stealing again?"
"You're not going to educate me now, are you?" Bai Ya raised his eyebrows, "Are you really going to meet that Gandharva with your bare hands? I don't know if you can walk out of Xiangyuan intact."
"...But the quality of this spear is too poor." Aoyan was a little distressed, "It will break if you apply even a little force."
"Stop talking nonsense. You don't know how troublesome it is for me to carry these jingling things."
Liu Shenghan said, since you have taken it, just use it, it is considered worthy of the mission for which the weapon was made. As she spoke, she picked up a dagger on the ground. This thing was about the same length as her pen. Although she wasn't very good at using these bladed things, it was better than nothing. In addition, she also discovered that Bai Ya had prepared a pair of ordinary knives. It seemed that he was still accustomed to the things he commonly used.
"Our things have arrived at Xiangyuan." Bai Ya said, "I noticed my knife."
"Where exactly is Xiangyuan?"
"An isolated place, a barrier woven with scent, cannot be marked on a map." Bai Ya said, "I just realized it. When we get there, we must first get our things back."
I'm afraid it's not that easy. "Jun Aoyan couldn't help but sigh, "Think about it, we still have the magic weapons of the gods in our luggage. The God of Incense must already know about the good things we do outside. "
"Then he should be more knowledgeable." Bai Ya said coldly.
They said nothing more. After eating something, I was going to rest for a while. All I know is that Xiangyuanzi stopped receiving visitors from time to time, and I don’t know when those believers left. Anyway, get some sleep first and talk about it tomorrow.
The environment is not good. However, they have not experienced more difficult conditions, and sleeping anywhere is not sleeping. They used wooden sticks to set up broken tents to keep out the wind. They fell asleep and woke up in a daze in the slightly cool weather. The rooster's crow appeared as promised, and when he opened his eyes, he could see the dawn sky through the cracks in the broken shed.
After being exposed to this faint fragrance for a long time, they almost no longer notice it. They took the "high road", climbing above the building, stepping on other people's roofs and rooftops, and even hanging on clotheslines when necessary, so as not to meet the people below. Once, Liu Shenghan almost fell from the gap between two houses that was too wide. Bai Ya quickly grabbed her hand and a pot of flowers fell from the side. What was even more thrilling was that on the main road on the side were walking countless believers who had returned all night.
But the group of people didn't even look at them - even though the movement was really loud.
"I noticed from the beginning that their spirits were a little distracted and they were distracted."
After Liu Shenghan was pulled up, he said this while dusting himself off.
"Are you sleepy? After all, you haven't slept all night. There are so many people who want to see the God of Fragrance, and it's impossible to rush in all at once. They must have waited for a long time, and it will be boring, right?" Jun Aoyan guessed so.
Liu Shenghan shook his head: "I'm afraid it's not that simple. Look, what are they holding in their hands?"
The three of them stuck their heads out from the roof and looked at the people passing by on the street. Almost everyone is holding a small package in their hands, about the same size as a money bag. The colors are different, but they are all made of good materials. Such bright colors and materials are a bit out of place for ordinary people, even poor people. But whether they were rich or poor, men, women, old and young, all held it tightly, occasionally looking left and right, for fear that someone would steal it.
"You can tell it's a treasure... given by Gandharva?" Bai Ya guessed.
"I'm afraid so. We'll have to meet him to find out."
"Make no mistake, we are here to ask for what belongs to us this time, and to negotiate the second and third tasks."
"Hopefully there is still a chance to speak peacefully."
Naturally, Liu Shenghan clearly remembered the spell on how to enter Xiangyuan, and those ointments could be used as long as they plundered some leftovers from the shrine. The vanilla wrapped around the wrist is still there. Soon, they found a remote shrine, and when there was no one around, they repeated their old tricks and came to the gate of Xiangyuan again.
Everything is exactly the same as before. The difference is that the ingredients of the spices in the fragrance garden seem to have been changed this time, and the smell is different from the previous visits.
But the moment they stepped through the door, the music players suddenly stopped.
Everyone - they knew they were all paper figures, holding musical instruments, stood motionless and looked at them, unable to take their eyes off them. Although no guards intervened to stop him, the suddenly quiet environment and these creepy sights were somewhat heart-wrenching.
God is restless. But Bai Ya walked forward firmly, and it seemed that his pace could not be stopped by anyone. He stared straight at the splendid building in front of him, as if whoever stood in front of him would die.
Liu Shenghan raised his head and glanced at the mountain of jewels behind the palace. The mountain is full of colorful Wuxiaying. I don’t know when so many of them grew.
They walked forward quickly and saw Xiang Shen's face that needed a beating at a glance.
The Gandharva still wears the black and gold octagonal crown, looking much lazier. The censer is to the left of his throne. He put his face on his hand and yawned boredly, his expressions filled with unprecedented contempt for them.
"Not only did you fail to complete your mission, but you also lost important things. Now you are just a few fugitives, but you still have the nerve to meet this leader? If you know what you are doing, get out now. You will live or die, and I will not make things difficult for you."
"Who are you bluffing?" Bai Ya was really not polite at all. "You took our things and you want to drive them away? Return our weapons and luggage first, otherwise don't blame me for being rude."
"Pfft." The Gandharva covered her mouth with the back of her hand and laughed, "Look at you, do you look like a puppy that can only bark? It's not enough to just talk big, you have to be able to bite. But you don’t have any teeth in your mouth, so what can you do? And those things, tell me, if you just gave us amber in the beginning, wouldn’t it have eliminated a task? In the end, wouldn’t they all be in the hands of this leader?”
The Gandharva closed his fingers with sharp nails. These words were probably meant to anger Bai Ya. But he did not show the anger expected by Gandharva, but instead made Gandharva feel a little disappointed. Bai Ya just kept glaring at the aloof Xiang God, as if he would rush forward at the next moment and tear his disguise apart.
"We met the Prince Consort of Ge Shen Kingdom. His belt was a prop that I originally wanted to use to bring back his body, but I failed. He is already dead. I confirmed it with my eyes. There is no need to bring anything back."
Bai Ya said calmly, and the Gandharva rolled his eyes.
"Eye deceives you - foolish child."
He gently rubbed the silver incense burner beside him with his hand, and a billowing white smoke poured out from it. Smoke obscured their view of the Gandharvas. Bai Ya was about to step forward when a person's back suddenly appeared on the curtain.
"Pray..." Jun Aoyan almost said out loud. But she knew that it must be an illusion.
"Qi Huan" on the curtain turned around and grinned as if he was really called. He looked happy.
In an instant, Bai Ya suddenly drew his knife and cut off the thin white mist. "Qi Huan" was cut in half at the waist, and bright red blood spurted out from the section of his body, splattering in every corner of the hall. He looked panicked and desperate, his expression twisted in pain. He stretched out his hand and opened his mouth full of blood, as if he wanted to retain something or plead something.
Finally, a huge gap suddenly opened in the ground, and downwards was an abyss. "Qi Huan"'s broken body fell down as the gravel fell. Jun Aoyan subconsciously took a step back and almost screamed. Even if this is an illusion, it is too real. Even Liu Shenghan frowned. But Bai Ya didn't even blink, his sharp vision passed through the hazy fog. Until the mirage completely dissipated, his eyes met the Gandharva directly.
"Your Excellency is really a man who doesn't miss old relationships."
"I've been wanting to kill him for a long time."
